Striving to return to work is of great importance to many cancer survivors. The purpose of the study is to prospectively investigate the factors that hinder and facilitate return to work (RTW) at 3 and 12 months after the end of treatment in head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors and whether these factors influence the ability to continue working after treatment. Participants (n= 227) aged ≤ 65 years at diagnosis with HNC were included. Data were collected before the start of treatment and at 3 and 12 months after the end of treatment. The Rubin causal model was used for statistical analysis. Within the 3-month follow-up period, 92 participants had RTW and 30 had retired. At the 12-month follow-up, 80 of these participants were still working, another 51 participants had RTW, and five participants working still suffered from cancer. The hindrance to RTW within 3 months was advanced tumour stage (stage III and IV) (p= 0.0038). Hindrances to RTW at the 12-month follow-up were oral cancer (p= 0.0210) and larynx cancer (p= 0.0041), and facilitators were living in a relationship (p= 0.0445) and a white-collar job (p= 0.00267). Participants with early tumour stage (stage I and II) (p= 0.0019) and a white-collar job (p= 0.0185) had earlier RTW. The conclusion is that disease factors were the most important hindrances to RTW, and type of work and living with a spouse or partner were nonclinical factors influencing RTW.
对于许多癌症幸存者而言，重返工作岗位具有重要意义。本研究旨在前瞻性探讨头颈癌幸存者在治疗结束后3个月和12个月期间阻碍与促进重返工作岗位的因素，以及这些因素是否影响治疗后持续工作的能力。研究纳入227名确诊时年龄≤65岁的头颈癌患者，分别在治疗开始前、治疗结束后3个月及12个月收集数据，并采用鲁宾因果模型进行统计分析。在3个月随访期内，92名参与者重返工作岗位，30名参与者退休。至12个月随访时，其中80名参与者仍在工作，另有51名参与者实现复工，仍有5名在职参与者受癌症困扰。治疗结束后3个月内阻碍复工的主要因素是晚期肿瘤分期（III期和IV期）（p=0.0038）；12个月随访时，口腔癌（p=0.0210）和喉癌（p=0.0041）成为复工障碍，而伴侣共同生活（p=0.0445）与白领职业（p=0.00267）则促进复工。早期肿瘤分期（I期和II期）（p=0.0019）及白领职业（p=0.0185）的参与者复工时间更早。研究结论表明：疾病因素是阻碍复工的最主要因素，而工作类型与配偶/伴侣共同生活则是影响复工的非临床因素。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家